The Great 208

The reality has finally sank in - we did it!! Two. Zero. Eight. Although I’ve come to terms with our success, there’s still a part of me that can’t believe that we did it, that the year is over, and that DM 2019 is officially complete. I want to say thank you to all of our supporters. Everyone, including our sponsors, donors, miracle makers, campus partners, families, and friends - this event wouldn’t have been a success if it weren’t for each and every one of you! This truly was a year to remember. We laughed, we cried, we stressed, we drove around Southern Idaho, and most importantly - we had fun!

Our feet have recovered from the extensive 17 hours of dancing and fun, and most of us have likely caught up on sleep by now (but who ever really has enough sleep)? We had a blast dancing with our miracle kiddos! Seeing their smiling faces and crazy dance moves kept us motivated all night long. We saw dance moves from flossing, to the dab, and everything in between. We were honored to be surrounded by such amazing kids, who are going through or who have gone through more than most of the rest of us will ever have to experience.

This year included so many highlights that I can’t capture them in a single blog post. Some things that stuck out to our team this year were the nights out with the Steelheads, the Chick Fil A fundraisers, the day-long fundraiser at Dutch Bros on Broadway, Child Health Day, and our big 100 Days out event. The overflowing amount of community support we received through all of these events was simply amazing. We are very fortunate to live in the city of Boise and the Great 208. Setting our goal for $208,000 was ambitious, but we wanted to make strides bigger than Dance Marathon at Boise State had ever seen before. We’ve heard in the past that “if the number doesn’t scare you, it isn’t big enough”. We used $208K as motivation from August through February, because focusing on our awesome miracle kids in the great state of Idaho was our number one goal.

We are forever thankful for everything that happened this year. We cultivated great relationships with community partners and took Dance Marathon to the next level at Boise State. For the graduating seniors, on behalf of our entire Exec Team, I want to thank you for your hard work and dedication to this organization and cause. To the Morale Team who kept the energy all night through crazy costumes and dance moves, thank you. To Feet In The Street members, thank you for diving into this organization head first and being open to help in every area possible. To the families and kids who came and danced your hearts out for as long as you could be there, thank you. YOU are the reason we dance. We will continue to dance every year for each kid spending time at St. Luke’s Children’s. On behalf of the Executive Team and all 1,025 miracle makers that signed up to make a difference in kids’ lives, thank you EVERYONE for an amazing event. Dance Marathon 2018-19 is one I will personally never forget, and I hope everyone reading this feels the same way. I will never forget the relationships I’ve made and the experiences I’ve had over the past four years. Dance Marathon will forever hold a huge place in my heart, and I look forward to continuing my involvement in the future as an alumni so I can continue to help the kids. Thank you for a year I will never forget. Dance Marathon, we did it. We raised $208,014.67 FOR THE KIDS!!! Stay tuned for details, applications, and involvement opportunities coming soon for Dance Marathon 2020!